You’ve been working for a while in your startup and you’ve seen excellent results, so you want to expand your activities and feel like the best way to start is by hiring people to work for you.
This is a great idea, but there are some aspects that you have to consider before hiring your first employee so you don’t have any troubles and everything can turn out well.
Consider what you need
If you’re thinking about hiring an employee you have to be sure about what you need from him or her, because this will help you make a good organization of your startup.
Before considering hiring someone, you have to know exactly what you want from them, and also you have to be realistic since some jobs don’t necessarily need a person to do it but it can be done with software.
So, ask yourself if you need this employee and write down what their scope of work is going to be. Determine the area where your new employee is going to work and have all the tasks assigned so you can know exactly what you’re looking for.
Why you should hire your first employee?
If your startup has growth potential, then the logical step is that you start creating a solid business by hiring people to do several jobs that will allow you to increase production and sales.
Your first employee has to make your startup better, so it’s crucial to choose the right candidate.
This can be a difficult process, but it’s essential if you want to take your business to another level since you can’t work alone, although at first, it might seem like you can handle everything by your own, eventually you’ll need someone to help you.
Once you hire your first employee, you’ll see that your startup will start working better and you’ll have more time to dedicate to your business to make it grow. This is the first step for having a great business in the future.
What to look for in an employee?
To hire your first employee you need to carry out interviews with the possible candidates, and you have to look for some features that will ensure you that you’re making the right decision and that it’ll be a good employee.
Capability
The first feature that you’re looking for in an employee is that it is capable to do the job that you are going to assign to him or her.
You have to look for a person that has experience doing the type of job you want, and also that has good recommendations, or at least, that has studied the subject and that is good in what they do.
Although this is not completely necessary because you can train the employee to do the tasks you want, but you have to make sure that the person is capable of learning fast, and has the potential to become a good employee, so you don’t waste your time with someone who’s not interested.
Motivation
One of the main features that you have to look for in your first employee is that it has to be a motivated worker and that will take this new job as an opportunity for growth as a professional and as a person.
You have to ask the right questions to know if that potential employee is proactive and likes to work, or if on the contrary, is someone who dreads working.
This is important because your new employee has to be a great addition to your startup, a person who is motivated to reach success and not someone who is going to bring your startup down.
Some of the questions you can ask during the interview to evaluate the potential employee’s motivation are the following:
- Are you up for challenges?
- How do you feel about changes in the workplace?
- Why do you want this job?
- What can you offer to the team?
By measuring the responses to these questions, you’ll know if that person is motivated to work, or if he/she just wants the money.
Teamwork
Even though is your first employee, you need to know if that person can work well in a group, because you two are going to work together.
This is very important because the new employee has to be able to participate in projects and work well without any inconvenience.
You must evaluate if the potential employee is good at problem-solving and brainstorming, which are fundamental for working as a team.
If you’re planning to make your startup grow, you need to have a person that is willing to collaborate with you and that helps you achieve the solutions you’re looking for.
Good communication skills
One of the best qualities of a person is the ability to communicate well with others because this is helpful in business.
First, you need to consider if the potential employee has excellent communication skills for the job that is applying to. If your employee has to talk with the customers then this is completely necessary.
Also, your new employee has to talk to you constantly so it’s good to look for someone who’s great working with others, can problem-solve, can make important decisions, can express doubts, and can talk to you nicely.
Leadership
Perhaps you’re not looking for a leader right now since it’s going to be your first employee, but if you’re expecting your business to continue growing then you need to have someone that can set the example for the next employees you’re going to hire in the future.
So you have to see if this potential employee can take charge of a situation, handle it, and solve it in the best way possible.
Also, you have to look for an employee who’s not afraid of taking risks and that is willing to improve with time. How can you know if a potential employee has leader material? By seeing if the person has confidence, patience, personal and professional goals, empowerment, and others.